The government has completed its assessment of the corona pandemic. On Thursday, Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) admitted mistakes to journalists. Measures are derived from the project, which was led by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), and included studies and a dialogue process with the population – such as a structured establishment of crisis communication. There are also recommendations for science, the media and the population.
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Study showed weak points
The study has now shown what went well and where mistakes occurred, Nehammer said at a press conference. The latter now needs to be analyzed and avoided in the future. “With the knowledge we have today, we would do many things differently,” emphasized the Chancellor. After all, especially at the beginning of the pandemic, much of the knowledge that exists now was not available – “We didn’t have a crystal ball back then.” Government decisions also quickly appeared outdated because the virus was “one step ahead”.
Nehammer said it was right to do everything possible to save lives and prevent hospitals and intensive care units from collapsing. However, politicians should have chosen their words “much more carefully” when addressing the public. A maximum of transparency and comprehensibility is needed when explaining why measures are being taken. For example, too little attention was paid to explaining the need for compulsory vaccination, although it had previously been said that there would be no such thing.
Video: Nehammer’s statement in full length
Political conflicting goals should be resolved openly, said sociologist Alexander Bogner from the ÖAW with regard to compulsory vaccination. A rhetoric of no alternative would have contributed to a hardening of the fronts here. Social consensus, such as that which exists in an acute crisis, cannot be continued in the long term, he said. From autumn 2020 onwards, the pandemic was a chronic crisis in which solidarity ebbed and scientific skepticism and polarization took hold. He recommended looking at a crisis from different perspectives – not just from a virological perspective – as otherwise political options for action would be limited. In addition, attention should be paid to clear boundaries between politics, science and the media so that there is no loss of trust.
The government has now concluded from the study that crisis resilience needs to be increased. Nehammer pointed to the Federal Crisis Security Act, which was passed in the summer and provides for a federal crisis security cabinet. A concept for crisis communication that should take place regularly and regardless of the crisis still needs to be established. They also want to take measures against scientific skepticism. Science Minister Martin Polaschek (ÖVP) said that this is spread across all sections of the population, and initiatives now want to go broader in order to appeal to everyone, but especially to young people.
Steps have already been taken to make health, nursing and social professions more attractive. The further development of the existing documentation and information system for analyzes in the healthcare sector into a fully-fledged official data evaluation platform strengthens decision-making. The federal, state and social security institutions, as well as research, should have access to health data. The Council of Ministers decided on the conclusions from the study today. The new epidemic law is also in the “final stages of completion,” said Katharina Reich, Director General of Public Health in the Ministry of Health.
Recommendations to politics, science and the media
In addition to politicians – who should justify their decisions in a comprehensible manner, communicate them in an understandable manner and have a diverse range of specialists in their decision-making and advisory bodies – recommendations are aimed at science, the media and the population. For example, the performance and limits of scientific research and teaching should be communicated and an understanding of this should be created in schools.
We want the media to create trust, positive thinking and dialogue as a principle. In addition, transparency and credibility should be increased. Constructive journalism should be “action and solution-oriented and not exclusively represent extremes and stir up fears,” says a media information. Ultimately, the population should treat each other openly and respectfully and talk to each other instead of about each other.
Naturally, FPÖ chairman Herbert Kickl was not very impressed with the presentation, describing it as a “staged whitewashing” and the result of a “mocking process” by the federal government. This caused the “Corona madness” itself – such as lockdowns, vaccination and mask requirements. He called for reappraisal, justice and reparations and cited the Corona Fund in Lower Austria, where the FPÖ co-governs, as a positive example.
In a response, Volkshilfe pointed out that the negative consequences of the pandemic for children affected by poverty are still ongoing. A survey in the summer would have revealed dramatic results: “If 56 percent of our respondents said this summer that they needed ‘better financial security for their children’ in order to get through the pandemic better, then that speaks very clearly,” said Volkshilfe President Ewald Sacher, who advocated poverty-proof social safety nets.
Video: This is what Katharina Reich, Chief Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health, said about the Corona workup
